Nigeria: 3 Oil Workers Released, 7 Kidnapped

On Wednesday Bourbon announced that three of its employees had been released after being held captive for seven weeks.

The crew members who were working on the BOURBON ALEXANDRE in the offshore oil field of Addax off the coast of Nigeria, were abducted in the late night hours of September 22 to 23.

The 13 crew members who remained onboard reported that the attackers came in speed boats and robbed the ship before taking the 3 crew members as hostage.

Bourbon says the three employees will be returning to France in a few day to be reunited with their families.

Ships and oil workers operating in the Nigerian oil beds have been subject to several attacks and kidnappings in the past few years.

Bourbon in particular has seen several of its employees kidnapped and has had ships pirated since working in the dangerous region.

“For reasons of confidentiality and in order to preserve the privacy of the families, no information will be given about the demands, the context, the released crewmembers, their families or the date of their return to France, said Bourbon.”

In a separate attack on Monday five oil workers were kidnapped from an offshore oil rig. Witnesses say gunmen in speedboats attacked the newly installed rig the High Island VII, owned by the London company Afren PLC.

Afren said is a statement that the rig had recently arrived and was preparing to commence drilling operations in the Okoro field.” Two workers from the rig sustained injuries to their legs and were air lifted to receive medical attention.

Support vessels were sent to the area as attacks through the area continued. An additional attack occurred on the AT 101 support vessel where five are believed to have been kidnapped.

Afren reports that both the rig and the ship remain under company control, however all operations have been temporarily suspended.

The U.S. State Department reports that seven people have been kidnapped, two of which are U.S. citizens. The U.S. is working with Nigerian authorities to ensure their safe release. The nationalities of the other hostages are unknown.

The Nigerian Navy often offers security to rigs and ships working in the offshore oil beds, however no navy was nearby during Monday’s attacks.